Magic
by Slow Walker
Summary: Oneshot. AU, but hear me out. I usually won't read AU's, but it's actually very closely tied to the movie 'verse. Erik is a magician and Charles is his reluctant  but sexy  magician.


So, uh, written for a prompt at lj because apparently I have no original creativity at the moment. AU where Erik is a magician and Charles is his reluctant assistant. Enjoy!

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><p>When Erik was six he could make a coin disappear and then reappear across the room. His mother thought this was just fabulous, so she immediately enrolled him in a little magic class for kids. From that first class onward, Erik was hooked. He steadily improved, quickly surpassing his classmates. The teacher, an old magician named Shaw, marveled at his talent and told his mother that he had a real gift, and that if she was interested, the man would give Erik private lessons, for a fee, of course. Erik's mother was ecstatic that her little boy had potential, that he might be famous one day. Even Erik was excited by the idea of being famous, of being a star, of performing and perhaps being on television and being able to send money home to his parents. Shaw promised to teach him how to do real magic, not just stupid sleight of hand or card tricks. He would learn to escape from handcuffs while underwater, and how to saw a woman in half. Erik eagerly soaked up all of it, learning almost faster than Shaw could teach him. By the time he was twenty two, Erik had learned everything he could from Shaw and the other performers Shaw introduced him to, including the silent Riptide and his assistant the beautiful Frost and the tattooed strong man Azazel. Erik broke from them soon after his twenty third birthday, going out to live his life and perform how he wanted.<p>

The first few months were very hard. No one wanted an inexperienced magician. Magicians were lame, and how could he know how to perform? He was so young! He had to have stage presence, he was told, and that only came with experience. Erik wanted to shout that he had to perform to gain experience, but he just smiled politely and bowed out gracefully. One night Erik was in a bar performing petty tricks for a drunk girl's bachelorette party when he caught the gaze of a young man watching him intently. He was stunning. His blue eyes were clear and strong, watching him with an intensity that Erik had only ever felt around Frost. After he was finished and the girls had departed to try to peel the clothes off some other man, the young man with the blue eyes approached him with a beer in hand.

"You look like you could use it," he said simply, setting the beverage down next to Erik's elbow. Erik was surprised to hear the man's clear voice had a British lilt to it. Erik nodded his head in thanks.

"Yeah, I really could. I need a better job," he sighed, taking a swig. "German beer?"

"Of course," the young man responded, bringing up his own half empty glass for a toast. "It's the best."

Erik took a long pull from the glass. "So what's your name?"

"Charles X."

"X?"

"It stands for Xavier. But you need a catchy stage name. And as interesting and good a magician as you are, Erik Lensherr isn't going to cut it."

Erik nodded, unsurprised that Charles knew his name. "And so what would you suggest?"

"I would suggest we go out as a team. I have connections, I could help you. As you could help me."

Erik laughed at the young man's bold request. "Go at it together, eh? I don't even know you! I don't know how well you perform or weather you can hold your own or weather or not you're a serial killer."

"I'll show you my apartment, I swear I don't have pictures of people with knives and various other objects flung into their sketches that I drew from memory."

Erik chuckled and nodded. "Alright then. So you're a magician too? How did you do it? I just can't catch a break. I never should have left Shaw."

"Well, I'm not _exactly_ a magician, per se, I'm more of an apprentice."

"You're an assistant."

"Apprentice!" Charles insisted.

"Alright, whatever," Erik laughed. "Come on, apprentice. Let's get out of here. I'm exhausted. Drunk girls are the worst."

Charles nodded and led Erik out of the bar and towards his apartment. "Do you have a place?" Charles asked as they walked.

Erik nodded. "Yeah, sort of. It's a day to day kind of thing. I pretty much live out of this bag," he said, shifting the backpack he was carrying.

"You can crash with me," Charles offered. "I already have some other roommates. You wouldn't really even be noticed. Actually, just come with us. We're all part of a traveling show, and we could use you."

"Really? Alright, cool. Thanks, man."

Charles led Erik to a large field where several giant tents were pitched. "So this is everyone," Charles said as they walked into the center tent. There were six teenagers sitting on worn out couches around a table covered in playing cards and colorful chips. They looked up as Charles entered the room. "Hey everyone, this is Erik. He's gonna stay with us for a while." The four boys and one of the girls glanced quickly then turned back to the game. The girl with bright red hair and tattoos covering every inch of her body kept staring though, watching Erik with calculating gold eyes. Erik smiled tentatively. Satisfied, she turned back to the game as well.

"Come on, I'll show you around," Charles offered, touching Erik's arm gently to lead him away from the teenagers. It turned out that it was less a thing of Charles being a part of a traveling show and more of a thing of Charles owning the traveling show. He showed Erik to a clear spot and handed him a folded up tent. They assembled the tent together, but Charles hesitated before leaving.

"Erik?"

Erik stopped admiring his living quarters and turned around. "Hmm?"

"I didn't really even ask you, but do you want to be here?"

"Charles, trust me, you're the nicest person I've ever met. I definitely want to be here."

Charles smiled and ducked his head to hid the color spreading across his cheeks. "Well, goodnight, my friend. Will we see you in the morning for breakfast?"

"Definitely."

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><p>In the morning, Erik was formally introduced to everyone and learned about why they were a part of a traveling freak show. Raven, stage name Mystique, the tattooed red-head walked around completely naked, clothed only in her tattoos. She was a gymnast, given formal training who's parents had suddenly died when she was fifteen. Now she lived and with Charles, an old childhood friend. Angel, the other girl was an acrobat of the cirque du solei variety, who could fly through the air on those long ribbons. She had also dabbled in being a stripper. The blonde boy was named Alex but called Havok because of his destructive tendencies. Alex was raised by an abusive step father and an alcoholic mother who never really cared about him one way or the other, which lead to years of pent up rage and aggression. Alex was the resident strong man. The red haired boy was Sean who spent most of his time hitting on Angel and smoking weed, but had an amazing singing voice. The strangest was Hank who wore black jeans so tight they looked like he would never be able to get circulation past his hips. His Mohawk was dyed bright blue and his nails were painted black. He never really spoke much, but Charles said he was smarter than everyone in the room. He was the one who decided where they would go, and who got them from place to place in their giant caravan of pimped out vans. Apparently Hank had designed the vans. The last of the boys was nicknamed Darwin, because he could do just about anything. He wasn't as flexible as Raven or Angel, but he could hold his own and he was almost as strong as Alex and he helped Charles practice his magic tricks.<p>

"I talked to some friends last night, and I got you a job over at a casino. It's tomorrow night. You ready?" Charles offered Erik over breakfast.

"Well that all depends," Erik answered. "What sort of venue is this? And how long would I be performing?"

"Two hours for an attentive audience. Informal," Charles answered easily.

Erik smirked at him. "An attentive audience, you say? Well in that case I'll need an assistant."

"Well, I don't know where you'll find an assistant. I suppose I could help you, but only if you ask very nicely."

Alex and Sean snickered and Darwin elbowed Alex in the ribs. Erik glared at them. "What's so funny?" he asked dangerously.

"Uhh, usually it's Charles begging for things," Alex spoke up.

"Yeah, remember Moria?" Raven shot in.

"She was such a bitchy drama queen!" Angel complained.

"And a dominatrix," Sean smirked, glancing at the helpless look on Charles' face.

"I could have broken her," Angel said confidently.

"Enough!" Charles barked, blushing furiously. Erik grinned when he saw the other man so flustered. "Erik, maybe we should leave these _immature_ little _brats_ alone to their _childish_ games," he said, purposely accenting certain words. Erik nodded and followed Charles out of the kitchen tent and into a bus filled with various objects, tools of the trade, Charles said fondly.

"This is where I practice. I-I'm not very good," he admitted. "But I would be happy to help you out tomorrow. So what sort of things do you usually do?"

"I can do pretty much anything, but I'm especially good at escaping handcuffs and chains. I can do underwater escapes too. I can saw you in half, and I can pull a rabbit out of a hat and a bird from thin air."

Charles nodded, impressed. Let's see some escapes then, Erik," he said walking over to toss Erik some handcuffs and then the leather arm braces that went with them. Erik studied the shining metal and the stiff leather. This was a fairly common set among street performers, but this set looked brand new.

"Have you ever used these before?" Erik asked as Charles strapped him in.

Charles shook his head. "Nope, I never really was one for escaping. I'm more the petty tricks kind of guy. I'm good at telling your card and reading fortunes, because I'm very good at reading people, their body language to know what they're thinking." He tightened a strap. "There you go, all set. Now, perform!"

Erik went through his whole act for Charles, cracking jokes and generally being charming while escaping from various different bonds and ending with a few classically cheesy magic tricks. Charles applauded at the end.

"That was very groovy," he laughed. "I think I've got a stage name for you. Magneto. So how about now you go through it again and this time tell me what you need me to do and say."

Erik nodded and started the whole process over.

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><p>Darwin was the one who helped Erik to dress for the event. His usual attire of jeans and a blazer topped with a fedora was vetoed and replaced with a well-fitting pair of black trousers with a matching black jacket over a tight white shirt and a thin black tie. And for the finishing touches, Erik was given a black satin top hat. Darwin seemed pleased to step back and admire his handiwork.<p>

"Dayum, son, you look fine!" Alex exclaimed from the doorway where all the boys were watching. Even Hank smirked and nodded.

Raven and Angel helped Charles to get ready in another room. Since the apprentice (assistant) was supposed to be a distracter, Erik thought it seemed reasonable that a stripper would help him dress. When Charles finally emerged, Erik was not braced for the shock of seeing him. Charles always looked a bit effeminate, but he looked downright delectable after what the girls had done to him, and Erik had never thought of himself as anything but straight as a board. Apparently that board was a bit warped, because Erik couldn't help drinking in Charles' appearance. The younger man was wearing the tightest, lowest slung pants Erik had ever seen. They were so tight, in fact, that Erik could clearly see the sizeable bulge between Charles' legs. And to make them even more flamboyant, they were sparkly gold. His shirt was, well, missing. He wore only suspenders over his surprisingly muscular chest. Erik looked closer and noticed that Charles's collarbones and shoulders shimmered with a light dusting of gold sparkles. Wrapped around his throat was a black bowtie. The girls had accented his features by adding touches of make up to his already flawless face, adding a touch of gold to his lower lip and cheek bones. Worse for Erik than the gold that graced Charles' entire body was the light stubble that touched his jaw and made Erik go slightly weak at the knees. It just contrasted so sharply with the pretty boy set up. The entire image was obscene. A sensual smile played at Charles' kissable lips, and his eyes shone bright blue against his pale face. He looked like a porn star, complete with the "fuck me" expression.

"Ready?" Charles asked.

Erik swallowed to moisten his suddenly dry throat. "Um, yeah, yes. Ready. Let's go."

Raven smirked and give a Charles a little wave as they walked out the door.

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><p>It was a wonderful night. Erik performed phenomenally and got several offers for more jobs. The only thing to tarnish the evening was Erik's growing jealously at the amount of stares Charles was receiving in his tight gold pants. Charles stuck close to Erik, though, smiling happily, almost glowing with pride to see Erik do so well. They returned to the apartment buildings around midnight and Charles led Erik into his personal tent to celebrate.<p>

"I have some brandy that's absolutely delicious," Charles grinned. "I think this is the kind of occasion to indulge a bit."

"I couldn't agree more," Erik replied, watching Charles' ass move in his tight gold pants. Charles smiled innocently and poured Erik a glass of alcohol.

"Cheers."

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><p>The next day found Erik down in Charles' practice bus again, working on a new trick he had an idea for the night before while drunk. Usually, Erik would ignore his drunk ideas, but this one actually seemed alright sober (well, mostly sober), so Erik decided to try it. He usually used metal handcuffs, but for this trick, it was imperative he use rope binds. Erik wasn't entirely surprised when his drunk idea turned out to be a complete failure and ended up with his arms tied together and hooked on a bar over his head, with no feasible way for him to escape. It took several minutes of shouting at the top of his lungs to Charles down to help him. The younger man smirked when he entered the room and saw what Erik had gotten himself into.<p>

"My, my, my, what have we here?" he smirked, walking slowly toward Erik.

"Charles, just help me out of this damn thing," Erik demanded, glaring at his friend.

"I'm not sure that's the wisest course of action, my friend," Charles said slowly, continuing his appraisal of Erik's helpless body. Erik suddenly felt self conscious for the first time in his life. He was just wearing worn jeans that were slipping down his hips from the force of gravity and a baggy sweatshirt, no shirt underneath, and Charles kept _looking_ at him like that, like he wanted to just eat him.

"Goddamnit Charles, get me out of it!"

"I don't know, Erik, I kind of like you like this," Charles smirked, slipping his tongue out to wet his lips. Erik swallowed nervously.

"Charles, be careful, what you do cannot be undone," Erik warned, shifting his body away from Charles'.

Charles grinned predatorily and stepped closer to Erik. "I know that very well, Erik Lensherr. I also know that you want this, no matter how much you deny it, I know you want me." Erik took in a shaky breath and Charles stepped even closer to whisper in his ear. "I saw you watching me last night. I saw the way you looked at me, the way you devoured me, the way you undressed me with your eyes, the way you fucked me in your mind. I saw what it did to you, I saw the control you had to exert to keep a hold of yourself during your performance. I was very proud of you, Erik. Very proud."

"Charles, we shouldn't-" Erik protested half heartedly, keeping his eyes trained on the man in front of him.

"Shouldn't what, Erik? Do this?" Charles breathed the words against Erik's lips, puffing warm air across the bound man's lips. Slowly, millimeter by millimeter, Charles leaned forward and grazed their lips just the tiniest bit. "You're probably right," Charles continued. Now he was speaking the words directly onto Erik's lips, pressing against them and pulling back. Erik felt his already weakened resolve crumble and disappeared like it had never existed at all. Erik closed his eyes and tilted his head just the slightest bit closer, sealing their mouths in a chaste kiss. Charles refused to keep it chaste for long though, and dove into the kiss, licking at the seam of Erik's lips, pressing their bodies closer, running his hands up Erik's arms to feel the muscles hidden by the gray sweatshirt. Erik's lips parted instinctually, letting Charles lick at the roof of his mouth and hum against his lips which made Erik groan and strain against the bonds holding his arms. Charles pulled back and smiled at that.

"You can't touch me, can you?" he asked, grinning. Erik scowled and jerked against his rope ties, showing Charles just how helpless he was. He growled slightly in the back of his throat at the sight of the one thing he really wanted standing just out of his reach. Charles smiled deviously and pushed Erik's sweatshirt up over his head, resting it on his arms. He hummed in delight to see Erik's lean torso stretched out in front of him. He rested his hands on Erik's hips, moving in again for another kiss. Erik pressed forward, throwing himself against Charles and moaning softly when Charles' lips strayed from his to suck and bite at his jaw and ear.

"You have no idea how you looked last night, Erik. You looked so sophisticated and professional, so different than the other night when I found you. You have no idea how hard it was for me to keep my hands to myself on stage when I was strapping you in to your various tricks," Charles whispered against Erik's neck, finishing his statement with a bite to his neck. Erik groaned and struggled even harder against his bonds, his only thoughts desires to touch, to feel, to taste, to take, to claim, to own.

"Calm down, my friend," Charles murmured, trailing his lips down Erik's bare chest. "I can help you, just calm your mind."

Erik couldn't remember ever wanting something as bad as he wanted Charles right now. Not his private lessons with Shaw, not his own success, not even the busty Frost. Charles smiled deviously up at him from his waist. His fingers touched the button on Erik's jeans lightly. Erik whimpered and thrust his hips forward, reveling in the pressure he got from Charles' hand. Before he could do it again, Charles was unbuttoning his jeans and sliding the zipper down, letting the loose pants fall.

"Do you usually not wear underclothes?" Charles asked, surprised for the first time since he had walked in the room.

Erik smirked and rolled his hips. "I never do."

Charles nodded thoughtfully before leaning forward and taking the tip of Erik's hard length in his mouth. A cry broke from Erik's lips as he tried to push forward but Charles stilled him with strong hands on his hips. Charles bobbed his head torturously slow, taking in more and more of Erik with each go, but it was still not enough.

"Please, Charles, please suck me, suck _harder_. I need you, _fuck Charles_, I need you so bad!" Erik kept up a litany of begging, hoping it would spur Charles into sucking hard, in moving his tongue a little bit faster. To his surprise, Charles complied, wrapping his lips tightly around Erik's shaft and _sucking_ so hard Erik couldn't keep holding back, he couldn't do anything. "Charles, fuck you gotta stop, pull back, I can't-I have to-" Before he could finish his warning, Charles pushed himself all the way forward, taking Erik past his gag reflex and all the way in. Erik screamed as he came, and sagged against the bonds that kept his hands above his head. Charles sat back and wiped the back of his hand against his mouth. His voice was deep and rough when he spoke, and it had Erik's cock trying to show interest but completely unable to.

"My, my, my," he rasped. "That was a surprise."

Erik groaned softly and pulled at his bonds. "Would you mind helping me out of this now?"

As soon as he was untied, Erik was on Charles before he could say a word.


End file.
